The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has awarded National Security Technologies (NSTec), the management and operations contractor for the Nevada National Security Site, 88 percent of its award fee for fiscal 2015, or $21.84 million of the available $24.72 million.
Like other NNSA site M&O contractors, NSTec was rated in six operational areas for the period from Oct. 1, 2014, to Sept. 30, 2015. The performance evaluation reports were completed by December but only made public late last week. The Nevada National Security Site performs high-hazard operations in support of the NNSA and other agencies.
The contractor received a “Very Good” rating in four areas: managing the nuclear weapons mission, reducing global nuclear security threats, operations and infrastructure, and leadership; and “Excellent” in the final two: DOE and Strategic Partnership Project objectives and science, technology, and engineering. The evaluation said some opportunities for improvement remain, including in nuclear safety basis development and configuration management, and that NSTec management’s responses to various issues throughout the year were “above and beyond what was anticipated.”
NSTec received 85 percent of the award fee – $3.15 million – for reducing global nuclear security threats. The evaluation highlighted work done by Nevada site teams for the NNSA’s Global Material Security program, including physical protection enhancements to secure radiological sources at medical sites in Belarus and the first orphan radiological source recovery in Armenia, as well as domestic emergency response and preventive programs for events including the State of the Union address, the Boston Marathon, and Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S. in September 2015.
The evaluation noted that NSTec has “experienced difficulties in retaining valuable, fully trained scientists at off-site locations, which is leading to an increase in training and administrative costs as new scientists need to be hired.” It also said the contractor did not conduct timely reviews of the NNSA’s comprehensive emergency management plan, which resulted in the suspension of some operations until several facilities’ emergency planning hazard surveys were updated. This added about $60,000 in costs to the program, the evaluation said.
NSTec received 87 percent of the award fee – $7.53 million – for operations and infrastructure. The evaluation said the contractor’s major accomplishments included the development of a prototype situational awareness tool that monitors the location of vehicles and other objects for site access control and its renegotiation of 30 union contracts, including those for construction workers, firefighters and paramedics, and maintenance engineers. The evaluation noted that the firm worked diligently following the White House Office of Management and Budget data breach to conduct vulnerability assessments and search for indicators of system compromise, none of which were found at the Nevada site. It also noted that NSTec developed an integrated deferred maintenance reduction approach that would cut $75 million from what has been a complex-wide growing backlog currently at $3.7 billion. This reduction plan, which would not impact operations, maintenance, or mission support activities, “was favorably received and has been influential in shaping how [the NNSA] will approach the [deferred maintenance] reduction objectives,” the evaluation said.
The contractor received 89 percent of the award fee – $7.04 million – for managing the nuclear weapons mission, the most heavily weighted segment (at 32 percent) in determining the overall award fee. Achievements included technological advancements such as the development of a new optical velocimetry probe that captures more hydrodynamic data. The probe shrinks from 18 mm. to 9 mm. in diameter, “enabling capture of later hydrodynamic data for [subcritical nuclear experiments] and above ground [hydro experiments],” the evaluation said.
It also received 94 percent of the award fee – $1.16 million – for the Department of Energy and Strategic Partnership project mission. According to the evaluation, the contractor conducted “high-impact” research and development for weapons of mass destruction sensors, designed and field tested electronic device tracking and complex chemical sensor systems, and was asked to test emerging nuclear counterterrorism projects including a wearable intelligence nuclear detection system and standoff mobile technology.
NSTec received 98 percent of the award fee – $726,876 – for science, technology, and engineering. The evaluation highlighted the contractor’s development of a dynamic stereoscopic surface imaging system that captures images of the inside of an imploding weapon device for use in correlating anomalies and key features of the system. It also lauded the contractor’s hiring of its first post-doc, “a giant leap forward in technical workforce competency” that was “nearly six years in the making.”
The contractor received 90 percent of the award fee – $2.23 million – for leadership. Achievements in this category included implementation of the Comprehensive Workforce Management Project that restructured salary and compensation and the development of a “five pillars of operational excellence” management initiative. The evaluation also said the contractor showed “outstanding leadership” in calling for work pauses and conducting management reviews as necessary.
Including fixed and at-risk fees, NSTec’s fees for fiscal 2015 totaled $26.34 million of a total possible $29.22 million.
“NSTec is pleased that its strong performance is being recognized,” NSTec President Jim Holt said in an emailed statement. “Ranking third in the Complex is definitely encouraging as we move forward. The company’s commitment to excellence remains strong, guided by what we call our Pillars of Operational Excellence, put into place in 2014.” These pillars are management engagement and communication; safety/quality prioritization and hazard identification; management focus and integration of programs and operations; enterprise work management, planning and control; and issues management and continuous improvement.
